


Parachutes and Windowsills

by lethargical



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Cute, Domestic Fluff, Fashion Designer Magnus Bane, First Meetings, Fluff, Happy, Human AU, Lydia Branwell & Alec Lightwood Friendship, M/M, Writer Alec Lightwood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 03:18:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10935882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lethargical/pseuds/lethargical
Summary: Alec Lightwood suffers from writers block and would do anything to stop it. Maybe that meant consulting his editor. Maybe it meant re-writing his novel. Or maybe it just meant scrapping his book idea completely and writing about the glittery neighbour across the street.





	1. Got It Bad

Alec couldn’t figure out what to do. He unfortunately struggled with boredom and lack of creativity too often to be as productive as his job required him to be. Alec wrote novels. The book he was currently writing was the first book he’d written since he finished his four-part book series, Parachutes, which was loosely based on his life; struggling with domestic homophobia, self actualization, realization, but unlike him, his book had a confident protagonist who was almost superhero-like and was in love with the human embodiment of death. No, that series ended and Alec decided he needed a change. The new book didn't even have a title yet. It was just a stupid little thing. A side project. A thing he did in his spare time, not a book he thought was worth publishing; he thought his writing was satisfactory at best despite having Parachutes win several awards.

The stupid little book of his, the one with no name had no meaning. Well no. Yes.. No.. Alec didn't know. His publishers were trying to convince him to publish it when he was done. It almost met the word count they were looking for but he couldn't bring himself to say yes. When Alec hesitated publishing a work, it meant it was something with some sort of significance. It did have meaning.

The book was started during a stage of what Alec would describe as 'Major Writer's Block' but in reality, he just was tired of writing the same characters he’d written before in the same situations. Parachutes, although he enjoyed the series became repetitive in his mind. His writing didn't please him anymore. One morning, after staring at his computer screen for an hour and only writing ten words, Alec looked out of his bedroom window to the house opposite to him in boredom. He never usually opened the blinds; he wrote best in the dark but he desperately needed inspiration and looked outside to see his neighbour.

Alec wasn't very familiar with his neighbourhood. He only just moved there and only really left the house for meetings and shopping and had never really gotten the opportunity to introduce himself to the community- not like he wanted to, he’d rather for people not to know where he lived. He didn’t need his fans finding where he resided. He didn't even know what his neighbour's name was. He grew curious and kept his window open, letting fresh air into his writing room. It was then when Alec started writing his new novel.

Three weeks later, the book still didn't have a title. He was convinced that when he had the courage to ask his neighbour what his name was, that would be the name of the book. ‘Maybe I’ll name the book after him’ Alec thought. He was desperate for a title. It annoyed him that he couldn’t think of one. But for now it was just left blank. The character's name was never mentioned. It wasn't that much of a book, it was more of an observational journal. It documented what Alec could see out of his window every morning.

He saw his neighbor doing the smallest things and made a story out of it. It was all in first person, a risk Alec was hesitant to try out in the beginning but it strangely fit. Alec wrote a story of his life from another angle. Parachutes had used parts of him woven into another character however the narrator of this new book was solely him. What he imagined while looking out of the window every day with his laptop, trying to get a glimpse of the man who lived across the street. It was a minor obsession- no not an obsession, it was an observation. If Alec had chosen to be a scientist, he’d be an expert in observing experiments. Alec had been in the middle of another novel when he had stopped writing to just to note down the happenings across the street. He was infatuated by his neighbours life and he didn't even know his name. He didn’t know his occupation. All he knew were the snippets he saw in the morning and sometimes in the evening when the man returned home.

The man in question wasn’t the typical man one would see when walking down the street. It was, however New York and people did have questionable styles, But Alec’s neighbour was odd. Not in a bad way but he kept up his appearance Every. Single. Day. He was an asian man with black hair, always spiked with a lock of dyed red hair standing out against the rest. Alec could see he wore several rings and necklaces on a daily basis and all his clothes matched and fit perfectly as if they were specially tailored for him. Alec couldn’t see the man’s face with much detail but could see he wore some sort of make-up each day that corresponded with his chosen outfit.

It was a saturday morning and Alec had no responsibilities other than to do laundry and attempt to start finishing his ‘observational study’ of a book. His editor had recently looked over his work and commented that it felt raw and real. She liked it. Of course she liked it. Alec’s editor was his best friend, Lydia Branwell and although she was a good friend, never failed to give Alec the constructive criticism he needed to continue writing. He and Lydia had met in university while they both were struggling to complete their final essays of the year; they both majored in english literature.

When Alec’s first draft of Parachutes was picked up at coincidentally the publishing company where Lydia worked, they decided they’d be a good team. The company couldn’t agree more. Four bestselling novels later and Alec was stuck. Lydia knew his dilemma, she had once wanted to be an author like him but found editing was her thing after going through her peer’s writing in university.

Alec found himself in a predicament. On one hand, he did want his story to be out there for the world to read but on the other, he was terrified the man would somehow read it and find out he was basically stalking and documenting his life. People clearly liked the different style of writing but once he published it, that was it. It was there for anyone to read. That was the problem with Alec, he was a perfectionist and whatever he wrote had to be flawless. He couldn’t settle for second best.

He gazed down at his most recent addition to the book.

 

_I don’t tend to see him through the window, not that I want to see through into his home. I’m not that kind of person, I still show him respect. Today he had his window open, his blinds pulled up and music flowed from the windowsill where his glitter covered speaker was sparkling in the morning sun. It’s happened a few times before but I was able to see hear him singing along with the song today._

_“_ _Girl, you think you got it bad // Girl, you think you got it bad // Got our different ways with the same old payout // Had our own dreams with the same old outcome”_

_His voice resonated across the street. It was a song that sounded soulful. It filled my ears and when he stopped the music and stepped out of his home twenty minutes later, he had a spring in his step and a smile plastered on his face. Morning like these remind me that there are other things to life than just what goes on in your own life. I was tempted to sing along. I didn’t._

 

Alec sighed. He wrote that the day before and he’d fallen asleep early in the evening and missed the man coming home. He knew he should go talk to the man about it. The book. The worst that could happen would be that the man wouldn’t let him publish the book. Or create a court case. Maybe even file a restraining order. That’s what kept Alec from asking for his name. That’s what kept him from naming the book. That’s what kept him from publishing it. The publishing company thought it was a work of fiction. He could convince the world it was a work of fiction. Only he had to know the truth.

It was a nice morning and Alec sat down at his window again. He had integrated his windowsill into a makeshift work station. He _had_ been writing about the nameless man for three weeks and he needed to be able to write as he observed. The man was nowhere to be seen. Or heard. Alec started to compose a draft for an e-mail. He considered accepting the publishing offer. Only he needed to know the truth. Nobody else. Especially not his neighbour.

 

* * *

 

‘Got It Bad is an amazing song to start off the day’ Magnus Bane thought to himself as he got dressed. He had played the song the day before and caught the eye of his neighbour across the street as he sang embarrassingly loud. It was Saturday. A good day for him. Two days before, Magnus had gotten a deal to open his first international store in London, England thanks to his dear friend and manager, Ragnor Fell.

Ragnor was a fairly average man to say the least but he was stubborn as hell. Magnus, although he loved the man, found him a menace sometimes and sometimes wondered why he had hired him to be his manager. The man had connections and offered help to Magnus when he was still studying fashion in school. From then on,  they just stayed as a team and worked together until Magnus could afford to actually hire him.

Now Magnus was one of the leading designers in the fashion world. His clothing line MATA KUCING, which roughly translated to cat eye in Indonesian, was the hottest clothing line in that year’s Paris fashion week.

He lived alone in a relatively large loft on the fourth floor of a small factory-turned-building in a previously industrial neighbourhood in New York. It was quiet and almost overrun with nature, unlike the rest of the city. It felt like its own small world and gave Magnus the peace to be able to come up with clothing designs in his own house if he needed to. He’d only just moved there from his apartment in London, where he stayed for the duration of setting up his store and the planning of fashion week.

He had been in his new place for a month when he felt like someone was watching him. At first, Magnus thought he had fans of his clothing following him home from work; he worked in a newly renovated warehouse a few blocks from his loft. After a few days, he realized his worries were not a problem as he looked out his window to see a man leaning on his windowsill staring down to the street. Magnus could tell he was blushing and knew the man had spotted him through the window.

If it were any other person, Magnus thought he’d been weirded out and concerned but the Man across the street did no harm and looked cute, as if he was caught doing something he wasn’t meant to be doing. He flashed a grin at the man and the man stood shocked.

After that, Magnus didn’t directly acknowledge the man he knew looked out of his window each morning but made sure to put on a sort of show to make each morning interesting. It was a little game. Magnus decided he’d talk to the man eventually. Get to know his name. Ask him out for coffee. Maybe a date if he was into guys. Magnus hoped he was into guys.

He didn’t have work on saturdays yet by 11 am, he was fully dressed and wore a full face of make-up. Normally if he was going out on a saturday, it was later in the day and it was because he’d be going to his friend Raphael’s nightclub, Pandemonium. But no, not that day. Magnus planned on talking to the windowsill man. He planned on learning his name.

Magnus wondered if his neighbor knew anything about him. He pondered on if the man was a fan of his work and was just too nervous to talk to him. Magnus took up the habit of observing the man back when he wasn’t looking. Maybe the man did know who he was. If the man was a fan of his work, Magnus was slightly concerned because if one person knew where he lived, there was a possibility more people could find out. There was only one way to find out, he thought to himself. He put his earphones in and pocketed his phone. Got it bad was playing once again like the morning before but this time only Magnus could hear it.

He walked out his building’s doors and pushed away the urge to look up to the man’s window, he was probably staring out at the sky like he often did. Magnus crossed the street and looked at the intercom in front of the man’s building. There were 3 names and 3 buttons; the building was quite quite small but if only three people lived there, would give the residents a lot of space. Magnus hadn’t gotten round to putting a name tag on his buzzer. He stored it in his subconscious to do later.

After a minute of scanning the names, Magnus realized that out of the three names, two of them were most likely the names of females. The last name was written in a scribbled font and was the name Magnus was almost positive was the name of the man opposite to his house.

_Alec Lightwood_

Magnus pressed the buzzer twice and waited for a reply.

“Hello?” He heard a voice on the other end. “Who’s there?”

“Hello, darling.” Magnus smiled as he spoke. “My name’s Magnus, your neighbour. I’ve noticed you’ve been admiring me for the past little while and I was wondering if I could make your acquaintance?”


	2. Earl Grey

Alec stared up at the morning sky. It was almost midday and he hadn’t amounted to any new writing so he just looked up. He was fortunate he didn’t live in downtown New York where he’d probably be stuck looking at other skyscrapers. He rested his elbows on the window pane and thought back to his first days as an author.

 

At first, he’d started off merely writing for his grade 12 creative writing class. He needed a good grade to please his parents as they didn’t believe that creative writing was a form of academic study; both of his parents were lawyers and wanted him to follow down their path of study. Alec didn’t. Instead, he majored in English and by his last year, had a contract with the Lovelace publishing company.

 

He didn’t tell his parents about his choice of career and respectively found out when Parachutes became a New York bestseller. They didn’t care and didn’t invite him to Thanksgiving that year. They told him they had read the book and said they were disappointed in him for stooping so low that he had to write a gay character to become interesting. Little did they know, the character was based on Alec...

 

When his second book in the series, Umbrellas, was released, Alec found his parents wanting to come back into his life. He suspected it was because either they wanted in on the new found fame their son had gotten himself into or maybe because the press was pressuring them to be included in their son’s life. Either way, Alec felt extremely uncomfortable whenever he spent time with them. He tried not to see them often, especially in public.

 

Book 3 of 4, titled Jump, was his longest book of the series. It took him two years and by the time it was done, was just over 650 pages. His parents tried to be proud of his achievement but were too unconvincing to Alec’s liking. His siblings Isabelle, Jace, and Max, however, were extremely proud of him and made up for the fact his parents, even after so long, didn’t accept his successful work. It was between the release of book 3 and 4 when Alec came out as a gay man. Not a surprise to his siblings, they backed him up when his parents threatened to disown him. The news of the sore subject was picked up by the press, thankfully with Alec not to blame; he couldn’t deal with the press.

 

When Alec decided that book four would be the final book of the series, Lovelace publishing tried to make him reconsider. Nonetheless, Alec got what he wanted and took another year and a half finishing the final book.

 Descent. 

The final book followed the main character’s final adventure and his journey figuring out his feelings for a controversial character that had become his fan’s favourite character. He aimed to give the fans what they wanted. A solid end. After 6 years of writing, he had finally finished the small creative writing project he had started in high school. And now he stood at his window, breathing in the smell of cut grass from the lawn below him.

 

It was a quiet day and the man across the street now stood at his own respective window, his long fingers rhythmically tapping at the pane. Alec couldn’t hear the sound the man was tapping. He disappeared back into his house and a minute later appeared at the front doors of the building. The man always walked on his side of the street. Either way didn’t matter but he’d never crossed the street, at least not when he was looking, which when Alec saw the man crossing to his side of the street rose suspicion. He sat and wrote it down.

 

‘About time for something interesting to happen.’ He thought as he wrote. The book, although more like a diary did carry a few elements of a story and if it was worth publishing, had to be interesting.

 

Alec was in the middle of writing a sentence describing the smell of fresh flowers and grass when his intercom buzzer went off. For a second, he hoped it was the man from across the street but also dreaded if it was him. If he was there, it was to probably ask him to back off and go away. Then he remembered he was expecting his sister Isabelle later that day. It was probably her. Standing, he made his way to his door and texted his sister.

 

‘Did you lose your key again Izzy?’ he texted. She replied almost instantly with several question marks and told him she was still at her hair appointment she had scheduled before seeing her brother.

 

He froze. ‘What if it was the man?’ He thought as he spoke into the microphone. Seconds later, he heard a reply. His neighbour. He finally knew his name.

 

Magnus. A strange name for a strange person.

 

Alec didn’t know what to say. Magnus had practically asked him on a date, not that he was complaining. He hadn’t answered the question and left the man waiting.

 

“I’m so sorry…” Alec apologized. The man on the other end laughed lightly.

 

“It’s alright dear. The offer’s still on the table.” He said.

 

“No. I mean yes, yes, of course, that’d be nice. Oh, my name’s Alec by the way…” Alec flushed.

 

“Ah, I know darling, your nametag is at the door. Is it, by any chance short for Alexander?” Magnus asked.

 

Alec cursed to himself. He needed to remove his name tag so that people wouldn’t find his address. “Uh. Yeah, but only my parents call me Alexander.” Alec rambled. “I mean, I don’t mind it.. At least not the way you say it-” he stopped himself after he realized what he just told his neighbour. Magnus just laughed and Alec’s cheeks warmed to an even darker shade of red.

 

“Alexander,” Magnus drawled out and Alec shivered. “When are you free? There’s this delightful coffee shop a few blocks from here that I’ve only been to a handful of times, would you care to join me?”

 

“Oh. Um, would right now be okay?” Alec said and hoped he wasn’t sounding too eager or excited. “My sister’s visiting later and I’m in meetings all week.”

 

Magnus spoke in a way that Alec could sense he was smiling as he continued their conversation. “That’s perfect Alexander, I’ll be waiting, don’t take too long.” He teased. Alec had never met the man but liked him already. Out of anyone in the world he chose to write about, he had seen and chosen that man. The day felt unreal.

 

Alec wasn’t one for fashion. At all. Whenever he had to go to an event, he’d get his sister and his brother’s girlfriend, Clary to help him piece together an outfit. Without them, Alec wore mismatched socks and only black.He changed into a shirt that Izzy had complimented him in the week before and stuffed a notebook and pencil into his back pocket. He grabbed his phone from his nightstand and ran a hand through his hair. He looked decent.

 

He took down the stairs two at a time and by the time he was down 4 flights of steps, was slightly out of breath. He saw Magnus leaning against the brick wall of his building and grew anxious. He hadn’t been on a date for nearly two years since he broke up with his last boyfriend, Sebastian. He hadn’t thought of going out with anyone since. Sebastian had broken him. He opened the front door and Magnus turned around, his face curling up into a stunning smile.

Magnus looked even better up close. Alec knew he was extremely pretty already; his weeks of observation gave him a lot of time to ponder over the fact Magnus, with no exception, always looked amazing. He wasn’t just pretty, he was beautiful.

 

“Hi…” Alec said with a small, shy voice. He faced the floor and stuffed his hands into his front pockets.

 

“Alexander! You look adorable. Certainly better than the view of you I get to see from my window.” Magnus winked. Alec smiled shyly.

“Shall we get going, darling?” Magnus suggested and Alec nodded back. “Excellent.” Magnus clapped his hands together, “It’s a couple of blocks away but it’ll be worth the walk. You don’t mind do you?” Alec shook his head, too worried he’d make a fool of himself or say something wrong.

 

Alec followed Magnus down the streets of their neighbourhood and ten minutes later, they arrived at a coffee shop by the name of Earl Grey. Despite the name being the name of a tea, it was, in fact, a coffee shop. Alec had been there before. He personally knew the owner. It wasn’t busy but the shop looked well worn in a homey sense. There were two floors. The first had small circular tables and the counter and cash register to order and pick up food and drinks. The second floor had couched and coffee tables, bean bags, and hanging ceiling lights. It was the epitome of a dissentient mainstream coffee shop.

The moment they walked in, they could smell the strong scent of black coffee. Behind the counter stood a hipster-looking man. Alec recognized him straight away and so seemed Magnus. It was a small world. Earl Grey was owned by Simon Lewis, Alec’s sister’s boyfriend.

 

“Samuel! How are you dear? Isabelle still treating you well?” Magnus asked almost too cheerfully. Simon shook his head and laughed. “I’m fine Magnus and yes, she’s fine.” He turned to Alec and raised a questioning eyebrow. Alec in return shrugged his shoulders as if he was saying ‘How do you know him’ and ‘just go along with it’. Magnus, oblivious to their silent conversation scanned over the coffee menu and sighed. “I’ll have my usual.” He turned to Alec and gestured to the board.

 

“Oh, um. I’ll just have it black Simon.” Alec said. Magnus wondered if Alec had also been going to the coffee shop as frequently as he went and therefore knew the owner’s name. Magnus paid for their drinks.

 

“Alexander?!” Magnus exclaimed in a faux manner, “How can you stand to drink such a disgustingly unsweetened drink?” Alec laughed and told Simon to add one sugar; he didn’t often have sugar in his coffee but he did it to make Magnus just a little bit happier.

 

“Sure thing Alec.” He disregarded Magnus’ use of Alexander with Alec and got to work with the drinks; he’d bring it up with his girlfriend later. “Izzy told me she’s seeing you later… I’m not judging you but why are you out with Magnus Bane” He checks his watch, “When your sister is coming round in half an hour?”

 

Magnus Bane.

 

Alec had heard the name before. His sister worked for a fashion company with Clary and they both talked highly about their boss. Magnus Bane. The facts started to click together.

 

“I-um… It’s sort of a long story?” Alec awkwardly laughed, scratching the back of his head. It seemed like Magnus was also catching up with Alec’s train of thought as he watched Alec and Simon’s conversation.

 

“Wait? You two know each other? And Izzy?” Magnus asked, confusion evident in his voice. He pulled up a chair closer to the counter. Simon nodded.

 

“Yeah, Alec’s sister is Izzy. Isabelle Lightwood? The one that works for you.” Simon laughed at the look of realization that washed over Magnus’ face. “Also Clary.”

 

“What about her?” Magnus asked he looked towards Alec in awe. Magnus couldn’t believe he hadn’t heard of Alec sooner or at least seen a recent photo of the man. Alec leaned against the back of a nearby chair and blushed.

 

“Clary’s boyfriend Jace? He’s Alec’s brother. Well, technically but he _was_ adopted by Alec’s family.” Simon finished.

 

“Wait.” Magnus took in the information and processed it as quickly as he could. He knew Isabelle had a brother who wrote novels but she never talked about him. The only time she’d heard of him was when she told him casually that her brother needed to get out of the house more often as his last relationship destroyed him and convinced him he’d never find love. Magnus certainly felt the same feeling. Camille, his last girlfriend had also shattered his heart.

 

“Alexander Lightwood, a bestselling author? Brother to one of my best employees?”

 

Alec’s eyes widened. Hearing the facts spoken aloud made them more evident to Alec. “Uh... yeah I suppose so?” He asked as a rhetorical question.

 

Simon stood there with their coffees and although he found their conversation amusing, didn’t want to let the coffees go to waste. He coughed to get their attention and they simultaneously looked at him. He pushed their coffees closer to them.

 

“Your coffees are ready.” Simon plainly stated and immediately felt stupid for saying something so plain and clear. “Say hi to Izzy for me Alec?”

 

“Uh, sure, yeah. Will do, bye Simon.” Alec said distractedly, still processing the fact he and Magnus hadn’t figured out the identities of one another sooner.

 

Magnus and Alec left Earl Grey as soon as they got their coffees instead of staying and sitting around. They waved and decided to walk back in the direction of their homes. They didn't know what to say. They were shocked and baffled as to their predicament. Well, not so much predicament but just the chances of meeting in such an odd way. By the time they stopped on their street, they had both finished their coffees and Izzy was only a couple of minutes away according to her texts. It was a short date if one could even call it a date. They just got coffee. Alec still hadn’t told him about the book. He was scared it would destroy whatever relationship they had, whether it be romantic or platonic. They hardly talked the whole way home, though it weirdly wasn't awkward at all.

 

For Alec, it wasn't just coffee. It was his first date since Sebastian. He walked Magnus to the door of his building and smiled. Magnus returned the smile equally as happy.

 

“Thanks for taking the first step to talk to me,” Alec said, almost whispering, “I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do it myself.”

 

“Alexander, I think we can agree that I have enough confidence for the both of us.” Magnus joked, “Thank you for letting me take you out today.”

 

“Anytime” Alec smiled. He didn’t regret what he said, he meant it. He wanted to see Magnus again. It frightened him extremely; he didn’t want to be hurt but Alec knew his sister had a good taste in people and if Magnus was her friend, he could trust him.

 

“I’d like that.”

 

Alec pulled out the notebook in his back pocket and wrote out his phone number. He handed it to Magnus.

 

“F-for if you want to go out again?”

 

“For a man with several best selling novels, it astounds me how bad you are with words.” Magnus laughed and Alec bowed his head with a smile.

 

When Alec lifted his head again, they made eye contact and Magnus moved in. Alec wasn’t ready for it. He’d only talked to Magnus that day and although Sebastian had happened two years before, still hurt Alec. Magnus sensed his discomfort and kissed Alec lightly on the cheek.

 

“I-I should go, Izzy’s going to be here soon” Alec blushed and stuttered his sentence.

 

Magnus looked over Alec’s shoulder and smiled amusingly. “Darling, I think she’s already here.”

 

Isabelle stood on the other side of the street with her phone raised. Alec flushed a darker shade of crimson he didn’t think was even possible. She was probably recording him and Magnus. At that exact moment, he didn’t really care.

 

“Text me if you want to.” Alec glanced at his phone number in Magnus’ hand before smiling at him and turning back to cross the street.

 

“Goodbye Alexander, I’ll see you from my window!” Magnus shouted across the road. He watched Alec turn back and wave before he walked into his building, leaving the two Lightwood siblings for the day.

 

“So Magnus Bane?” Isabelle asked with a playful voice, teasing Alec as they both walked into his building.

 

“Shut up,” He said through his teeth but couldn’t refrain from smiling.

 

“And he called you Alexander hmm? I never get to call you Alexander...” She smirked, poking her brother in the arm.

  
“We’re not talking about it” Alec simply stated as if it was no big deal. But it was. Magnus Bane was opening Alec’s heart. Something Alec didn’t know was achievable. Across the street, Magnus Bane was also thinking along the same lines. Alec Lightwood, he thought, could be someone he could love with his entire heart and maybe this time, his heart wouldn’t break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey pals i'm trying to update every day this week so here's a new chapter for my newest fic x  
> i hope you like it and i'll introduce more characters next chapter  
> as well as the main conflict xoxo  
> as always kudos are cool and come say hi in the comments if you want  
> have a good day! x


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